BY ALEX CANTATORE
Coming into the year 2008, Barack Obama was little more than a junior Illinois Senator who had never submitted a bill to his body of legislature. Mary Jackson was just a Turlock City Arts Commissioner who had come in near the bottom of the pile of competitors for a City Council seat in 2006. Amy Bublak was a Modesto Police Officer and a Turlock Planning Commissioner who had also already failed in one bid for a City Council seat.
And just look at them now.
Yes, just as now President-Elect Obama would have you believe, the theme for the 2008 election year really was change.
Turlockers have already seen their two new councilmembers take their seat at the dais, placing two women on the Turlock City Council for the first time in history. Across the nation, Americans look forward to Jan. 20, when the nation’s first African-American president will take office.
When the citizens of Turlock first went to the polls this year for the Presidential Primary Election on Feb. 5, none of this seemed possible.
Stanislaus County voters actually picked New York Senator Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, ahead of second-place Obama and distant third North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who was then still considered a viable choice before his infidelity scandal. On the Republican side of the ticket, Arizona Senator John McCain narrowly edged out former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, while past Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took up the rear in the primary race.
The establishment seemed entrenched. Stanislaus County even spoke out in one strong vote against change, as Measure E, which for 30 years will prevent residential growth on unincorporated agricultural land without ballot approval from county voters, should prevent development and keep the county an agricultural Mecca for the foreseeable future.
Voters returned to the polls on June 16 to save Republican State Senator Jeff Denham from a recall election headed by Democrat State Senate President Pro Tem Dom Perata over Denham’s refusal to vote for an unbalanced budget. Now, just a few months after Denham’s political future seemed to be in danger, the Senator has announced his intent to pursue the seat of Lieutenant Governor, the second most powerful post in California.
In a major change for local politics, Hughson farmer Vito Chiesa was elected to the post of Stanislaus County District 2 Supervisor in June, besting former Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman. Chiesa will take office on Jan. 6, replacing Tom Mayfield who served for 15 years as District 2 Supervisor but decided not to seek reelection this year. Mayfield, a legend in Stanislaus County politics, passed away earlier this month at the age of 77 due to an extended illness.
The year’s major electoral tilt-and the biggest vote for change-came on Nov. 4, when voters were asked to determine both the President and two Turlock City Councilmembers.
History was made when Obama defeated McCain in an electoral landslide to become the first African-American President in U.S. history.
Bublak took first place in the Turlock City Council election with 25.97 percent of the vote despite controversy over sizable campaign donations from the owner of Monte Vista Crossings. Jackson triumphed over the adversity of robocalls that lied about her policies and suspected vandals that tore down her campaign signs, finishing second with 25.3 percent of the vote.
Vice Mayor Kurt Vander Weide was not reelected to his council seat, finishing third in the race, and outgoing Councilwoman Beverly Hatcher did not seek reelection, appointing two fresh faces to the Turlock City Council. On Dec. 9 the two new councilmembers were seated, placing two women on the Turlock City Council for the first time in history.
In a race for the open District 26 State Assembly seat, held by Republican Greg Aghazarian who hit term limits, Republican Bill Berryhill defeated Democrat John Eisenhut. Berryhill has already looked to shake up Sacramento with proposals to split the State of California in two.
Of course, not everything was about change. Republican U.S. Representative George Radanovich was reelected to his District 19 seat unopposed. Democrat Cathleen Galgiani also retained her District 17 State Assembly seat, defeating Republican challenger Jack Mobley.
A plethora of Propositions came before California voters this year, but looking back two stood above the rest in terms of their potential long-term effects.
Proposition 2, Standards for Confining Farm Animals, will likely change the face of California’s egg industry. The new standards will require that chickens, pigs, and veal be allowed to move around freely, raising the price to produce goods related to these animals. As a result, much of the production is expected to move out of the state in coming years, possibly destroying the local egg industry, depending on a final court interpretation of the law.
In the biggest vote against change this year, voters approved Proposition 8, which eliminates the right of same sex couples to marry. With myriad court appeals already underway, however, it seems that opposing change may be futile in this day and age.
As Bob Dylan once said, “These times, they are a-changin’.” And who knows what changes 2009 may bring?
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
Originally published in the Turlock Journal 12/31/2008.
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.